They're Only Children

Disclaimer: I own nothing--
--Yet. Bahaha.

There wasn't much to do that day but listen to the one-sided battle growing in the kitchen. Fred and George were getting on Mrs. Weasley's last nerves, being the troublesome seven year olds that they were, and Ron just sat there on the steps, a grin playing at his lips.

He may have never admitted he loved his brothers -- that was known without words -- but watching them suffer made Ron quite the happy little child. After all, Fred and George just pulled probably the worst prank known to man kind.

Or rather, children kind.

"TO BELIEVE YOU COULD – I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT! – WHAT POSSESSED THE TWO OF YOU TO -"

Though it was mainly Fred who preformed the prank, both twins were deeply involved.

Who knew that two seven year olds could nearly pull off making a successful Unbreakable Vow?

Ron didn't know. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't know. Not even Fred and George knew. They thought they were making most of it up, but according to their dad, who walked in during the middle of the prank, it was quite accurate.

"--VERY LUCKY YOUR FATHER STOPPED YOU! – COULD HAVE HARMED YOUR LITTLE BROTHER – WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING??"

Ron started to feel only a bit sorry for his brothers when he saw their faces. Or rather, lack there of. Both their heads were bowed low enough that only the top of their red hair was visible.

"I guess we weren't thinking, mum," one of the twins replied quietly. Ron couldn't tell if it was Fred or George. There was a creak on the stairs that caused Ron to turn around and see who joined him. He wasn't very surprised to see Percy and Ginny quietly settling next to him.

Bill and Charlie were at Hogwarts, which was pure luck for them to not hear just how loudly their mum can yell.

And frankly, to hear just how loudly their dad can yell as well.

"What did they do this time?" A nine year old Percy asked in a whisper, his eyes mixed between feeling sorry for the twins and enjoying every last bit of it.

Ron shrugged. Though he was very much involved in the fight without actually be involved, he still wasn't sure why Fred and George were getting that badly yelled at. "Something about an Unbreakable Vow."

Percy gasped while Ginny scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. She was only four, and barely understood what magic was in the first place. But it seemed that Percy fully knew how bad an Unbreakable Vow was.

"Did they try it on each other?" Percy asked, a hand covering his mouth.

"No, they tried it on me. Why?" Ron asked, now very intrigued about the Vow.

"It's very powerful, and obviously it can't be broken, it's strong, dark magic. I just can't believe --" Percy started, but his words were cut short by more footsteps coming down the stairs. The owner of the feet wasn't in view yet but the only person it could have been was their dad.

When he finally came into view, all three of the Weasley children could tell that he looked… drained, to say the least. After loudly and furiously explaining to his sons that what they did was wrong, he left for his office upstairs to calm down a bit and let Mrs. Weasley take over the lecture. His face was still red but he didn't seem to be in the mood for yelling much more that day.

His eyes landed on his two sons and daughter and gave a small smile. He didn't want them to be frightened of him; that was the main reason he was very little involved with punishments.

Knowing he did his fair share in punishing their sons, Mr. Weasley let his wife continue alone. Instead he took a seat on the stairs behind Percy, watching the battle start coming to a close.

Mrs. Weasley finally finished her lecture, mainly beause she was running out of breath and her throat was starting to dry out. She gave an aggravated sigh and looked at her two sons. They were nearly on the verge of tears.

It seems, Mrs. Weasley thought, that they realized what they did was wrong. Not everyday did both their mother and father yell at one of the twin's pranks.

"Now, now, come here," Mrs. Weasley said gently, his fury less now that she knew they learned their lesson. The twins, rather lifelessly, walked over to their mother, who gave them both a hug. "I hate being mad at you two, but you must understand that what you did was very wrong. You might not know exactly why now, but when you're older you will, and you'll be thankful that you didn't succeed in doing it."

The twins nodded as Mrs. Weasley let them out of her motherly grip. Ron gave a frown as he looked at his older brothers before getting up from his seat on the stairs.

He quietly entered the kitchen, very much so that Mrs. Weasley looked startled when she saw him appear out of no where.

Fred looked at his younger brother. "We're sorry Ronniekins."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to hurt you," George continued sadly, giving a sniff.

Ron smiled near toothlessly at his brothers and walked over to Fred asnd George, hugging each briefly.

"It's ok! I'm glad you chose me out of everyone else," he said, now tugging on their sleeves. "Lets go play Quidditch!" Mainly that meant throwing a quaffle sized ball around like keep away, and Ron knew that he'd be the one the ball was to be kept away from, but he didn't care. Children were carefree, after all.

The twins looked at their mum, unsure as to whether she'd let them have any fun or not. But they were surprised to see Mrs. Weasley give a small nod, a smile soon following. Ron pulled them both outside and out of the sight of the other Weasleys.

If Ron could forgive them so quickly, then Mrs. Weasley could too.

Or at least, she could be less harsh on deciding their punishment.

With a smile, she looked over at her husband, who was still sitting on the stairs with their two children. "I'm guessing degnoming the garden would be a fair punishment, don't you agree? They're old enough to do it themselves."

Mr. Weasley smiled.

And so the degnoming began.

-

Author's Note: Well, this has been gathering dust for a few months in my computer. Thought I'd upload it and have you fine people read it! So, I hope you liked it and please review with your opinions!